About Expedition

Students 15 - 18 years

Developing Young Australians

Can't wait for your independence? To travel, do something new and inspiring? Grab your backpack and join us on an expedition.

Antipodeans Abroad's EXPEDITION program is made up of teams of students aged 15-18 years on a 3-4 week journey to a developing country, combining adventure and a community project.

Each year Antipodeans Abroad organizes expedition teams for individual schools as well as a combined schools' team known as The Venturers that includes students from across Australia. School teams may visit countries such as India, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Laos, Peru, Bolivia or Kenya. The Venturers' expedition teams also visit countries such as Vietnam, India and Peru each year.

Leadership
You will take an active part in your expedition, learn leadership skills and, along with other team members, be responsible for the welfare of your expedition under the supervision of our experienced Expedition Leaders.

Teamwork
You will learn the value of working co-operatively. Our leadership model gives responsibility by rotation to all team members. One day you will be student team leader, another day you will be in charge of the team budget, transport or accommodation. You learn by experiencing these responsibilities firsthand.

Adventure and Service: your community project
An expedition involves exploration and discovery. Your team will combine the adventure of the journey with a community service project over 4-5 days. You may work on a project in an orphanage in Vietnam, build a kitchen in a village school in Peru, construct a classroom in India, work in an elephant sanctuary in Kenya or any one of many different and worthwhile projects.

Discover old cultures, meet new friends
Your expedition may take you to Machu Picchu in Peru, Tiger Leaping Gorge in China, the Shimba Hills in Kenya, the Kullu Valley in the Indian Himalaya, the Taj Mahal or Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. You will come to appreciate the beauty of the country, the diversity of its people and the culture they embrace.

Leaders
Each team, including the combined Venturers' Team, is accompanied by an experienced Antipodeans Leader, as well as teachers from your school. They are responsible for the safety of your expedition team. Leaders are selected for their experience and knowledge as well as their passion for working with young people. All Leaders have Wilderness First Aid qualifications.

Planning and Preparation
Planning for your expedition begins once the team forms and team members are encouraged to have input in to the planning process. Teams have a 3-day training course before departure, an equipment evening, regular planning meetings plus advice on fundraising both to cover your expedition costs and to contribute to your community project.

Challenge with Safety
Managing risk with appropriate safety systems has been integral to the continued success of our expeditions for over ten years. The training course, experienced Leaders, 24-hour back-up, comprehensive travel and medical insurance cover, local in-country agents plus meticulous pre-departure planning are all part of the service Antipodeans will provide.

Fund Raising
Once you have joined a team we'll send you a unique fund raising package full of ideas to help you raise the necessary money to pay for your expedition. 'The Money Plan' will help you with your preparation and teach you how to set realistic goals and achieve them. Plenty of past students have done just that. To succeed you'll need to be motivated and organized.

What's in it for you?
This will be a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Pack a spirit of adventure as you swap the comfort of home for the excitement of a distant world. You will see, hear, taste and smell an exotic culture, learn the value of initiative and goal setting. You'll learn about patience, teamwork and humour and, importantly, come to know yourself better.

South America
Peru and Bolivia ... walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas, visit Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, help refurbish a village school near Cusco.

India
Trek the Himalayas ... meet the local villagers, experience the stunning mountains, take a camel safari in Rajasthan, teach English in a Tibetan school in Sikkim.

South East Asia
The bustling markets of Vietnam ... the wildness of Borneo ... the hill tribe villages of Thailand, work with street kids in Hanoi.

Africa
Safari in Kenya, Tanzania or Botswana. Experience the beautiful wildlife. Raft the mighty Zambezi River. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro. Go canoeing on the Okavango Delta. Combine this with a project to rebuild a village school.

WHAT WE ARRANGE FOR YOU
- Leadership training course
- Team equipment
- Return flight ticket
- Trekking expedition
- Food and accommodation
- Community project work
- Professional team leaders to guide and advise each team
- In-country support backed up by our Australian office
- All transfers
- Comprehensive travel and medical cover

Our trip to Peru exceeded my wildest expectations. I enjoyed every aspect of our trip from the community project to the trek which I particularly enjoyed. Despite looking forward to the trek before we left for Peru, I must admit I was a little apprehensive. As soon as we set out from Las Challpus my fears subsided. We saw so many amazing things; glaciers, huge mountains, llamas, and roaring rivers - we even trekked though snow! The trek taught me so many things about myself and my capabilities. I definitely now believe in the saying 'you can do anything you put your mind to'.

One of my parents' worries about the trip was that I would lose focus at school. However, if anything I think the expedition has made me more determined than ever to do everything I set out to do, from schoolwork to sport, to the best of my ability. Through witnessing the humility and gratefulness of the Peruvian people at the community project and with the confidence and greater self-knowledge gained on the trek, I think we will all go away from this experience with a greater appreciation of both how lucky we are and the responsibility we have to make the most of life and its opportunities.